Processing equipment for object to be processed

ABSTRACT

Processing equipment for an object to be processed is provided with a process container, the internal of which can be evacuated, a gas introducing means for introducing a prescribed gas into the process container, a supporting table provided in the process container, a ring-shaped supporting part provided on the supporting table for supporting the object to be processed, a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements provided on an upper plane of the supporting table on an inner side of the supporting part, an element storing space evacuating means for evacuating inside the element storing space formed by a lower plane of the object to be treated, which is supported by the supporting part, an upper plane of the supporting table and the supporting part.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a processing equipment for performingvarious processes, e.g., an annealing process, a cooling process and thelike, on an object to be processed, e.g., a semiconductor wafer and thelike.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, when manufacturing a desired semiconductor device, asemiconductor wafer is subjected to time after time various heattreatments such as a film forming process, a pattern etching process, anoxidation/diffusion process, a quality modification process, anannealing process and the like. Recently, along with a recent trend of ahigh density, a multilayered structure and a high integration ofsemiconductor devices, a strict heat treatment process has been indemand. In particular, an improvement of in-surface uniformity of awafer and a film quality improvement are required when performingvarious heat treatments.

For example, when processing a channel layer of a transistor as asemiconductor device, it is typical to perform an annealing processafter implanting ions of impurity atoms into the channel layer in orderto stabilize the atomic structure.

In this case, if the annealing process is performed for a long period oftime, the atomic structure becomes stable, but the impurity atoms arediffused into deep portions of a film thickness direction, causing adownward penetration. To this end, the annealing process needs to beperformed for a shortest period of time possible. Specifically, in orderto stabilize the atomic structure while preventing the impurity atomsfrom penetrating through the channel layer of a thin film thickness, itis necessary to rapidly increase a temperature of the semiconductorwafer to a high temperature and then rapidly decrease the temperaturethereof to a low temperature at which the diffusion does not occur.

In order to achieve the aforementioned desirable annealing process, aconventional processing equipment is provided with a lamp houseaccommodating therein a heating lamp and a shutter mechanism forblocking radiant heat from the heating lamp. Further, such conventionalprocessing equipment is configured to perform the annealing process at ahigh temperature and then rapidly decrease the temperature of the waferby blocking the radiant heat from the heating lamp by means of anoperation of the shutter mechanism.

In another conventional processing equipment disclosed in JapanesePatent Laid-open Application No. 2001-85408, peltier elements areprovided on a wafer stage. The peltier elements are used for increasingand decreasing a temperature of the wafer such that an etching processcan be performed on the wafer in a temperature range of about 100 to250° C.

When the peltier elements are used for increasing and decreasing atemperature of the wafer, about a few tens of peltier elements, eachbeing a few millimeters in length, height and width, are arrangedplanarly, thereby forming one element module. Such an element module isused as one unit module. Moreover, a plurality of element modules areplanarly arranged corresponding to a wafer area and then fixed to aplanar susceptor by screws, thereby forming a heating unit.

After the wafer is mounted on the susceptor, the wafer can be heated byapplying power to the peltier elements. Further, the wafer can be cooledby applying power to the peltier elements in the opposite direction ofthat in the heating process.

In the prior art described above, the susceptor and the element modulesare fixed to each other by being strongly pressure-contacted by means ofscrews in order to enhance efficiency of heat conduction by minimizing acontact thermal resistance between top surfaces of the element modulesand the susceptor. Accordingly, the susceptor fixed by the screws is notallowed to be thermally expanded or contracted. As a result, a thermalexpansion of the susceptor may deform the susceptor to bend or may causea breakage of the susceptor or the peltier elements.

Moreover, in the aforementioned prior art, the susceptor is positionedon the element modules and, then, the wafer is mounted on thecorresponding susceptor. In other words, a thin plate shaped member,i.e., the susceptor, is placed between the wafer and the peltierelements. The presence of the thin plate shaped member limits theenhancement and the improvement of the heat conduction efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed to effectively solve theaforementioned drawbacks. It is, therefore, an object of the presentinvention to provide a processing equipment for an object to beprocessed, capable of enhancing heat conduction efficiency.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a processingequipment for an object to be processed, capable of preventing abreakage of a susceptor, when there is provided a susceptor (mountingtable for mounting thereon the object to be processed), by allowing athermal expansion and contraction of the susceptor.

The present invention provides a processing equipment for an object tobe processed, including a process container having an evacuable innerspace; a gas introducing unit for introducing a gas into the processcontainer; a supporting table provided in the process container; aring-shaped supporting part, provided on the supporting table, forsupporting the object to be processed; a plurality of thermoelectricconversion elements provided on a top surface of the supporting table atan inner side of the supporting part; and an element accommodating spaceevacuating unit for evacuating an inside of an element accommodatingspace formed between a bottom surface of the object to be processed,which is supported by the supporting part, the top surface of thesupporting table and the supporting part.

In accordance with the present invention, since the elementaccommodating space formed between the bottom surface of the object tobe processed, which is supported by the ring-shaped supporting part, thetop surface of the supporting table and the ring-shaped supporting partis evacuated, the object to be processed is vacuum chucked and thebottom surface of the object to be processed can thus be directlycontacted with the uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectric conversionelements. Consequently, an unnecessary member is not inserted betweenthe bottom surface of the object to be processed and the uppermostsurfaces of the thermoelectric conversion elements, which leads to theimproved contact between the bottom surface of the object to beprocessed and the uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectric conversionelements. As a result, a heat conduction resistance therebetween isgreatly reduced and, accordingly, the heat conduction efficiencytherebetween can be greatly improved.

Further, the space surrounding the thermoelectric conversion elements isevacuated, so that it is possible to minimize a backflow of heat movedby the thermoelectric conversion elements.

Furthermore, due to the direct contact between the bottom surface of theobject to be processed and the uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectricconversion elements, the thermal response and the temperature controlaccuracy can be improved.

The present invention also provides a processing equipment for an objectto be processed, including: a process container having an evacuableinner space; a gas introducing unit for introducing a gas into theprocess container; a supporting table provided in the process container;a ring-shaped supporting part provided on the supporting table; amounting plate for mounting thereon the object to be processed supportedby the supporting part; a plurality of thermoelectric conversionelements provided on a top surface of the supporting table at an innerside of the supporting part; and an element accommodating spaceevacuating unit for evacuating an inside of an element accommodatingspace formed between a bottom surface of the mounting plate, which issupported by the supporting part, the top surface of the supportingtable and the supporting part.

In accordance with the present invention, since the inside of theelement accommodating space formed between the bottom surface of themounting plate supported by the ring-shaped supporting part, the topsurface of the supporting table and the supporting part is evacuated,the mounting plate is vacuum chucked and, thus, the mounting plate isallowed to be thermally expanded and contracted in a plane directionthereof. Further, the bottom surface of the mounting plate is directlycontacted with the uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectric conversionelements, so that a tighter contact between the bottom surface of themounting plate and the uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectricconversion elements can be obtained. As a result, a heat conductionresistance therebetween can be greatly reduced and, accordingly, theheat conduction efficiency can be greatly improved.

Further, since the space surrounding the thermoelectric conversionelements is evacuated, it is possible to minimize the backflow of heatmoved by the thermoelectric conversion elements.

Furthermore, the object to be processed can be prevented from beingcontaminated by components of the thermoelectric conversion elements andthe like.

Preferably, the bottom surface of the mounting plate has a wiringpattern for electrically connecting the thermoelectric conversionelements.

For example, the mounting plate is supported by the supporting part viaa number of pins so that the mounting plate is allowed to be thermallyexpanded and contracted in a horizontal direction of the mounting plate.

Moreover, preferably, the processing equipment for an object to beprocessed further includes a clamp mechanism for downwardly pressing aperipheral portion of the object to be processed.

Preferably, the uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectric conversionelements have a uniform height, and a mounting surface of the supportingpart has a height identical to the height of the uppermost surfaces ofthe thermoelectric conversion elements. It is also preferable that theuppermost surfaces of the thermoelectric conversion elements have auniform height, and a mounting surface of the supporting part has aheight slightly higher than the height of the uppermost surfaces of thethermoelectric conversion elements. Alternatively, the heights ofuppermost surfaces of the thermoelectric conversion elements areslightly higher in a peripheral portion of the supporting table than ina central portion thereof.

The present invention also provides a processing equipment for an objectto be processed, including: a process container having an evacuableinner space; a gas introducing unit for introducing a gas into theprocess container; a supporting table provided in the process container;a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements having uppermostsurfaces for supporting a bottom surface of the object to be processed,the thermoelectric conversion elements being provided on a top surfaceof the supporting table; and a clamp mechanism for downwardly pressing aperipheral portion of the object to be processed.

In accordance with the present invention, a tighter contact can beobtained between the bottom surface of the object to be processed andthe uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectric conversion elements sincethe clamp mechanism downwardly presses the peripheral portion of theobject to be processed. Accordingly, the heat conduction resistancetherebetween can be greatly reduced and, thus, the heat conductionefficiency therebetween can be greatly improved. Moreover, due to thedirect contact between the bottom surface of the object to be processedand the uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectric conversion elements,the thermal response and the temperature control accuracy can beimproved.

For example, the clamp mechanism has a ring-shaped clamp plate contactedwith a top surface of the peripheral portion of the object to beprocessed.

Further, for example, the heights of the uppermost surfaces of thethermoelectric conversion elements are slightly lower in a peripheralportion of the supporting table than in a central portion thereof.

The present invention also provides a processing equipment for an objectto be processed, including: a process container having an evacuableinner space; a gas introducing unit for introducing a gas into theprocess container; a supporting table provided in the process container;a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements provided on a topsurface of the supporting table; a mounting plate for mounting thereonthe object to be processed supported by uppermost surfaces of thethermoelectric conversion elements; and a clamp mechanism for downwardlypressing a peripheral portion of the object to be processed.

In accordance with the present invention, the mounting plate is allowedto be thermally expanded and contracted in a plane direction thereofsince the clamp mechanism downwardly presses the peripheral portion ofthe object to be processed. Therefore, a tighter contact is obtainedbetween the bottom surface of the mounting plate and the uppermostsurfaces of the thermoelectric conversion elements and, accordingly, theheat conduction resistance therebetween can be greatly reduced. As aresult, the heat conduction efficiency therebetween can be greatlyimproved and, further, the object to be processed can be prevented frombeing contaminated by components of the thermoelectric conversionelements and the like.

For example, in order to restrict a vertical movement of the mountingtable while allowing a horizontal thermal expansion/contraction thereof,the mounting plate may be supported by the supporting table viahorizontally extending thermal expansion/contraction allowing pins.

In the above, the thermoelectric conversion elements may be provided byarranging plural element modules in a prescribed arrangement state, eachelement module being formed of one or more prescribed number ofthermoelectric conversion elements.

Moreover, preferably, a coolant passageway where a cooling medium ismade to flow is formed in the supporting table.

Moreover, generally, the processing equipment for an object to beprocessed further includes a heating unit for heating the object to beprocessed.

Furthermore, for example, uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectricconversion elements are selectively connected with each other by anupper wiring, and lowermost surfaces of the thermoelectric conversionelements are selectively connected with each other by a lower wiring.Further, a conductive material forming the upper and/or lower wirings isexposed at least either top surfaces of the upper wiring or bottomsurfaces of the lower wiring. In this case, the thermal response by thethermoelectric conversion elements is improved and, accordingly, thetemperature control accuracy can be improved.

For example, the top surfaces of the upper wiring are configured to bedirectly contacted with a bottom surface of the object to be processed.In this case, since the object to be processed is directly contactedwith the top surfaces of the upper wiring, the thermal response for thethermoelectric conversion elements is improved and, thus, thetemperature control accuracy can be improved.

Moreover, for example, uppermost surfaces of the thermoelectricconversion elements are selectively connected with each other by anupper wiring, and the bottom surfaces of the thermoelectric conversionelements are selectively connected with each other by a lower wiring.Further, at least either top surfaces of the upper wiring or bottomsurfaces of the lower wiring is covered by an insulating film. In thiscase, there is no need to interpose plate-shaped insulating members,which would be otherwise required, between the upper wiring and thebottom surface of the object to be processed and/or between the lowerwiring and the surface of the supporting table. As a result, the heatconductivity is improved and, thus, the thermal response can beimproved.

For example, the insulating film is made of a compound of a conductivematerial forming the upper wiring and/or the lower wiring.

Further, for example, the bottom surfaces of the lower wiring arecovered by the insulating film and directly contacted with a surface ofthe supporting table.

Furthermore, the insulating film is made of one of a carbide, afluoride, a silicide, an oxide and a nitride of the conductive material,for example.

Besides, the conductive material is one of carbon, aluminum, tantalum,tungsten, Ni—Ti alloy (superelastic alloy), Fe—Cr—Ni—Mo dual phasestainless steel (superplastic material) and silicon, for example.

In addition, the upper wiring and the lower wiring are formed in a plateshape, for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross sectional view of a processing equipment foran object to be processed in accordance with a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate fragmentary enlarged cross sectional viewsshowing a region around a peripheral portion of a supporting table ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 describes a plan view depicting an arrangement of thermoelectricconversion elements.

FIG. 4 provides a graph showing results of simulations of cooling ratesin the processing equipment in accordance with the first embodiment ofthe present invention and a conventional processing equipment.

FIG. 5 presents a fragmentary enlarged view of a modified example of thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 represents a fragmentary enlarged view schematically showing anexample of changing heights of peltier elements.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic cross sectional view of a processing equipmentfor an object to be processed in accordance with a second embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 depicts a schematic cross sectional view of a processingequipment for an object to be processed in accordance with a thirdembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 provides a plan view of a mounting plate in accordance with thethird embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross sectional view of a processing equipmentfor an object to be processed in accordance with a fourth embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a plan view of a mounting plate in accordance withthe fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 describes an exemplary clamp mechanism with a lift pin attachedthereto.

FIG. 13 offers a schematic cross sectional view of a processingequipment for an object to be processed in accordance with a fifthembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 sets forth a fragmentary enlarged cross sectional view depictingparts of peltier elements of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of a processing equipment for an object to beprocessed in accordance with the present invention will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross sectional view of a processing equipmentfor an object to be processed in accordance with a first embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate fragmentary enlarged cross sectional viewsdepicting a region around a peripheral portion of a supporting table ofFIG. 1. FIG. 3 describes a plan view showing an arrangement ofthermoelectric conversion elements.

As shown in FIG. 1, a processing equipment 2 in accordance with thisembodiment has a cylindrical process container 4 formed in a cylindricalshape with aluminum, for example. The process container 4 has an openedceiling portion. The ceiling portion (opening portion) is configured tobe sealed by a transparent transmission window 8 via a sealing member 6such as an O-ring or the like.

Provided on a sidewall of the process container 4 is a gate valve 10 tobe opened and closed for loading and unloading a semiconductor wafer Was an object to be processed. Further, provided on the sidewall of theprocess container 4 is a gas nozzle 12 serving as a gas introducing unitfor introducing a gas for use in processing the semiconductor wafer Winto the process container 4.

An exhaust port 14 is formed on another side of the sidewall of theprocess container 4 and connected with an exhaust system having a vacuumpump (not shown). Accordingly, the atmosphere inside the processcontainer 4 can be evacuated, for example.

A supporting table 16 is provided at a bottom portion of the processcontainer 4. That is, the thick supporting table 16 made of, e.g.,aluminum, is airtightly and fixedly attached to an opened lower end ofthe process container 4 via a sealing member 18 such as an O-ring or thelike.

Provided on the supporting table 16 is a supporting part 20 that isupwardly protruded to support a peripheral portion of the semiconductorwafer W. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the supporting part20 is formed in a ring-shape and provided at a peripheral portion of thesupporting table 16 via a plate-shaped heat insulating member 22 made ofquartz or the like, for example.

The supporting part 20 is made of aluminum, quartz or the like. Thesupporting part 20 is positioned so as to be approximately concentricwith a mounting position of the wafer W. A stepped mounting surface 20A(see FIG. 2A) is formed on an upper inner peripheral side of thering-shaped supporting part 20. The wafer W can be mounted on thesupporting part 20 to allow a bottom surface of the peripheral portionof the semiconductor wafer W to be contacted with the mounting surface20A.

A distance H1 (see FIG. 2A) between a side surface of a stepped portionforming the mounting surface 20A and an outer peripheral end of thewafer W mounted on a proper position is preferably set to be about 1 mm,for example, so that the stepped portion can determine the position ofthe wafer W. In this case, if the wafer having a diameter of 300 mm isheated to 1000° C. for example, a diameter thereof expands by about 2mm. At such a temperature, the wafer of 300 mm is received on themounting surface 20A almost without a gap. In any case, the distance H1can be properly set depending on a wafer size and a desired temperature.

An inner area surrounded by the supporting part 20 of the supportingtable 16 serves as an element accommodating space S0. Such an elementaccommodating space S0 accommodates therein a plurality of peltierelements 24 serving as a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elementsthat are features of the present invention. To be specific, a thinplate-shaped insulating member 26 made of ceramic such as AlN, Al₂O₃ orthe like is formed on an entire top surface of the inner side of thesupporting part 20 of the supporting table 16. The multiple uprightpeltier elements 24 are arranged in order on the insulating member 26.

Herein, each of the peltier elements 24 is formed of a separate body(separate module). The peltier elements 24 are formed of P-typesemiconductors and N-type semiconductors. The P-type semiconductors andthe N-type semiconductors are arranged alternately. Further upper andlower electrodes of the neighboring P-type semiconductors and the N-typesemiconductors are alternately connected by an upper wiring 28 and alower wiring 30, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Accordingly,the P-type semiconductors and the N-type semiconductors forming thepeltier elements 24 are connected in series as shown in FIG. 3. That is,electricity is made to flow P-type→N-type→P-type→N-type→P-type→N-type .. . , for example.

The upper and the lower wiring 28 and 30 are made of a copper plate or asuper elastic carbon fiber plate, for example. Further, the wirings 28and 30 are fixedly joined by, e.g., a welding, a brazing, a soldering orthe like, depending on a heat treatment temperature.

The upper and the lower wiring 28 and 30 may be formed in a thin plateshape having a thickness of about 0.1 to 2 mm. In addition, the upperand the lower wiring 28 and 30 may have surfaces in which a conductivematerial, e.g., carbon, forming the wirings is exposed or surfaces whichis covered by an insulating film made of the compound of the conductivematerial.

Referring to FIG. 3, the peltier elements 24 are connected in series ina zigzag shape over an approximately entire top surface of thesupporting table 16. However, the connection type of the peltierelements 24 is not limited thereto. For example, the peltier elements 24may be connected in series in each of multiple divided areas, e.g.,multiple concentric areas, on the top surface of the supporting table16. In this case, each of the areas can be separately controlled.

Each of the peltier elements 24 has a cubical shape of, e.g., 3 mm×3mm×3 mm in length, height and width. Further, a gap L1 between thepeltier elements 24 (see FIG. 3) is set to be about 1 mm, for example.Accordingly, uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 are made tobe approximately uniformly adjacent to an entire back surface of thewafer W. Referring to FIG. 3, the distance L1 between the peltierelements 24 is drawn wider than the actual distance in order to help theunderstanding of the present invention.

The peltier elements 24 are connected with an external peltiercontroller (not shown) via lead lines (not shown). The peltiercontroller is configured to control a direction and a level of currentapplied to the peltier elements 24. A thermoelectric conversionindicates a conversion from thermal energy to electrical energy and viceversa.

As for the peltier elements 24, there can be used, e.g., Bi₂Te₃ (bismuthtelluride) elements, PbTe (lead telluride) elements, SiGe (silicongermanium) elements or the like that are endurable against a hightemperature above 400° C. Herein, in order to deal with a wafer having adiameter of 300 mm, about hundred peltier elements 24 are used, forexample. In order to deal with a wafer having a diameter of 200 mm,about fifty peltier elements 24 are used, for example.

A mounting surface 20A of the supporting part 20 is formed at a positionequal to or slightly higher than the uppermost surfaces of the peltierelements 24 (uppermost surface of the upper wiring 28, to be exact). Tobe specific, a distance H2 (see FIG. 2A) between the mounting surface20A and the uppermost surface of the upper wiring 28 is set to be about0 to 0.1 mm.

The supporting table 16 is provided with an element accommodating spaceevacuating unit 32 for evacuating the inside of the elementaccommodating space S0 formed between a bottom surface of the wafer W, atop surface of the supporting table 16 and the supporting part 20.Specifically, the supporting table 16 is provided with a gas exhaustport 34 communicating with the element accommodating space S0. Also, thegas exhaust port 34 is connected with a gas exhaust system 36 where anvacuum pump (not shown) is installed, so that the inside of the elementaccommodating space S0 can be evacuated when necessary. Accordingly, thewafer W is bent downwardly and thus vacuum-chucked, as shown in FIG. 2B.

Further, formed in the supporting table 16 is a plurality of (three inFIG. 3) pin holes 38 spaced apart from each other at predeterminedintervals along a circumferential direction of the supporting table 16.A lift pin 40 is inserted in each of the pin holes 38 to passtherethrough. A lower portion of each lift pin 40 is supported by, e.g.,a ring-shaped elevating plate 42 connected thereto. The elevating plate42 moves up and down by an actuator (not shown). Accordingly, the liftpins 40 are protruded upwardly above the uppermost surfaces of thepeltier elements 24, thereby raising or lowering the wafer W.

An expansible and contractible metal bellows 44 of a pleated box shapeis provided at a through hole portion of the supporting table 16 foreach lift pin 40. Consequently, the lift pins 40 can move verticallywhile maintaining a vacuum state of the inner space of the processcontainer 4.

Further, the supporting plate 16 is provided with a cooling passageway46 where a cooling medium is made to flow therethrough. The coolingpassageway 46 is connected with a cooling medium circulator 48 via aflow path 50. When the cooling medium is made to flow along the coolingpassageway 46 by controlling the cooling medium circulator 48 whennecessary, it is possible to cool bottom sides of the peltier elements24 via the supporting table 16.

A heating unit 52 for heating the wafer W is provided above thetransmitting window 8. To be specific, the heating unit 52 of thisembodiment has a plurality of heating lamps 52A. These heating lamps 52Aare attached to a substantially entire inner surface of a ceilingportion of a container-shaped lamp house 54 provided above thetransmitting window 8. Herein, the inner surface of the ceiling portionof the lamp house 54 is formed as a reflection mirror 56, so that heatrays from each of the heating lamps 52A are reflected downwardly.

The following is a description of an operation of the processingequipment 2 configured as described above. Herein, an annealing processis performed on the semiconductor wafer W.

First of all, an unprocessed semiconductor wafer W is introduced intothe process container 4 via the opened gate valve 10. A bottom surfaceof a peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W is supported on themounting surface 20A of the supporting part 20 (see FIG. 2A). Next, aninner space of the process container 4 is sealed.

Then, a processing gas, e.g., N₂ gas or Ar gas, is introduced into theprocess container 4 via the gas nozzle 12 at a controlled flow rate. Atthe same time, a processing space S in the process container 4 isevacuated and maintained at a predetermined process pressure, e.g., 1 to100 Pa (7.5 mTorr to 750 mTorr). Also, the element accommodating spaceevacuating unit 32 is driven, to evacuate the inside of the elementaccommodating space S0 under the bottom surface of the wafer W. Next,each of the heating lamps 52A is turned on, and current flows in each ofthe peltier elements 24, as will be described later.

The heat rays generated from each of the heating lamps 52A are incidenton a surface of the semiconductor wafer W after transmitting thetransmitting window 8, so that the semiconductor wafer W is rapidlyheated. Further, by flowing the current in the peltier elements 24 tomake the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 generate heat,the wafer W is also heated by the peltier elements 24. Hence, the waferW is very rapidly heated.

In the aforementioned first embodiment, the inside of the elementaccommodating space S0 is evacuated and, thus, a pressure thereinbecomes lower than that in the processing space S disposed above the topsurface of the wafer W. Due to the pressure difference, a downwardpressing force F is applied to the wafer as shown in FIG. 2B, therebyslightly deforming the wafer W downwardly. Consequently, the bottomsurface of the wafer W becomes approximately uniformly in tight contactwith the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 in an in-surfacedirection. Therefore, the thermal resistance between the bottom surfaceof the wafer and the peltier elements 24 is greatly reduced. Further,the heat conduction efficiency is remarkably improved. As a result, atemperature of the wafer W can be effectively increased. A heating rateinvolved here is about 1 to 400° C./sec.

Further, since the bottom surface of the wafer W is directly contactedwith the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 as describedabove, the thermal response is remarkably improved. Accordingly, theaccuracy of the heating rate can be improved by controlling the currentflowing in the peltier elements 24, for example. Also, the heating ratecan be adjusted by changing the contact heat resistance between thewafer W and each peltier element 24 with the pressing force F controlledby adjusting the pressure difference between the processing space S andthe element accommodating space S0.

During the annealing process, the cooling medium circulator 48 is notdriven; thus, the cooling medium does not flow in the cooling passageway46 of the supporting table 16.

With the evacuation of the inside of the element accommodating space S0,a vertical movement of heat in the peltier elements 24 due to a gasconvection is prevented. This also improves the heating efficiency ofthe peltier elements 24.

If the annealing process is completed in a state where the wafer W isheated, in order to rapidly cool the wafer W, each of the heating lamps52A is turned off and, also, a direction of the current flowing in thepeltier elements 24 is inverted. That is, the current flows in adirection of cooling the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 42.Accordingly, the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 areforcibly cooled. Due to such a forcible cooling as well as coolingeffects by convection in the processing space S and heat radiation fromthe process container 4, the wafer W contacted with the peltier elements24 is forcibly cooled. Consequently, the temperature of the wafer W canbe rapidly decreased.

In this case, the heat is generated from the lowermost surfaces of thepeltier elements 24, so that the cooling medium flows in the coolingpassageway 46 formed in the supporting table 16. Consequently, the heatgenerated from the lowermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 can bedischarged to the outside by the cooling medium. Cooling water or thelike can be used as the cooling medium.

During the cooling process, the element accommodating space evacuatingunit 32 is continually driven. Accordingly, the bottom surface of thewafer W and the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 aredirectly contacted with each other over the approximately entire bottomsurface of the wafer W, as shown in FIG. 2B. Accordingly, the contactheat resistance between the bottom surface of the wafer W and theuppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 is very small and, thus,the wafer W can be cooled effectively. Also, the cooling rate can beadjusted by changing the contact heat resistance between the wafer W andthe peltier elements 24 by way of adjusting the pressure differencebetween the processing space S and the element accommodating space S0.

As described above, since the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements24 (specifically, top surface of the upper wiring 28) are directlycontacted with the bottom surface of the wafer W as an object to beprocessed, the heat resistance of the corresponding portion (contactsurfaces) is reduced and, accordingly, the thermal response is improved.Consequently, the temperature of the wafer W can be effectively andrapidly increased and decreased.

An insulating oxide film is normally formed on the bottom surface (backsurface) of the wafer W. Therefore, even when the corresponding portionis contacted with the upper wiring 28 having surfaces in which aconductive material is exposed, the peltier elements 24 are notshort-circuited. When an insulating film is formed on the surfaces ofthe upper wiring 28, the problem of the short circuit does not occurregardless of a state of the bottom surface of the wafer.

Herein, simulations were performed to obtain cooling rates in theprocessing equipment of the first embodiment and the conventionalprocessing equipment using a mounting plate made of aluminum as asusceptor for mounting thereon a wafer. Hereinafter, the results thereofwill be explained.

FIG. 4 provides a graph showing results of the simulations of thecooling rates in the processing equipment in accordance with the firstembodiment of the present invention and the conventional processingequipment. In the drawing, there are illustrated the cooling rates,obtained by increasing the temperature of the wafer W to 1000° C. andthen decreasing the temperature thereof from the correspondingtemperature (1000° C.).

As clearly can be seen from FIG. 4, the conventional processingequipment has a very low cooling rate of 10 to 20° C./sec, regardless ofthe wafer temperature due to a great heat capacity of the mounting platemade of aluminum. On the other hand, the first embodiment of the presentinvention has a high cooling rate of 100 to several hundred ° C./sec,due to a very small heat capacity of the inner portion of the processingequipment. That is, the temperature of the wafer W can be effectivelyand rapidly decreased in the first embodiment of the present invention.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, nothing is formed on themounting table 20A of the supporting part 20. However, as shown in FIG.5, a seal member 58 such as an O-ring or the like may be provided on thering-shaped mounting surface 20A. In this case, when the inside of theelement accommodating space S0 is evacuated, a space between the bottomsurface of the peripheral portion of the wafer W and the mountingsurface 20A is sealed to some extent. Accordingly, the pressing force Fpressing the wafer W downwardly increases, which leads to the tightercontact between the bottom surface of the wafer W and the uppermostsurfaces of the peltier elements 24. Consequently, the heat resistancebetween the bottom surface of the wafer W and the uppermost surfaces ofthe peltier elements 24 is further reduced, thereby further improvingthe thermal efficiency.

Although the peltier elements 24 have a uniform height in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention is not limited thereto. Anexample shown in FIG. 6 can be employed, for instance. FIG. 6 representsa fragmentary enlarged view schematically showing an example of changingheights of the peltier elements. In the example depicted in FIG. 6,heights H3 of the peltier elements 24 are slightly higher in aperipheral portion of the supporting table 16 than in a central portionthereof. To be specific, the heights H3 of the peltier elements 24become gradually higher from the central portion of the supporting table16 toward the peripheral portion thereof. Herein, positions of theuppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 are set to mimic a curvedsurface formed when the wafer W is deformed to be curved downwardly in aprotruded shape while the peripheral portion of the wafer W is supportedby the supporting part 20. In this case, a further tighter contactbetween the bottom surface of the wafer W and the uppermost surfaces ofthe peltier elements 24 can be obtained and, accordingly, the thermalefficiency can be further improved.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. In the first embodiment of FIG. 1, the element accommodatingspace evacuating unit 32 is provided as a means for making a closecontact between the bottom surface of the wafer W and the uppermostsurfaces of the peltier elements 24. In this embodiment, however, aconventionally known clamp mechanism is used instead of the elementaccommodating space evacuating unit 32.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic cross sectional view of a processing equipmentfor an object to be processed in accordance with the second embodimentof the present invention. In FIG. 7, like parts as those of the firstembodiment of FIG. 1 will be designated by like reference characters,and descriptions thereon will be omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the processing equipment of this embodiment isnot provided with the element accommodating space evacuating unit 32.Instead, there is provided a clamp mechanism 60 for downwardly pressingthe peripheral portion of the wafer W. Further, this embodiment may beprovided with the supporting part 20 as shown in FIG. 1, or may not beprovided therewith as described in FIG. 7. When the supporting part 20is not provided, the wafer W is directly mounted on the uppermostsurfaces of the peltier elements 24.

Specifically, the clamp mechanism 60 includes a ring-shaped clamp plate62 made of ceramic such as AlN or the like.

The clamp plate 62 is supported by a plurality of support rods 64. Eachof the support rods 64 is connected with an elevation rod 68 via aspring 66. The elevation rod 68 is extended downwardly through a rodhole 70 formed in the supporting table 16 and is moved up and down by anactuator that is not shown. Moreover, the rod hole 70 is provided with abellows 72 for allowing a vertical movement of the elevation rod 68while maintaining an airtightness of an inner space of the processcontainer 4.

In this embodiment, a bottom surface of an inner peripheral portion ofthe ring-shaped clamp plate 62 presses a top surface of the peripheralportion of the wafer W by using an elastic force of the springs 66during the annealing process (heating process) and the cooling process.Accordingly, the bottom surface of the wafer W becomes in tight contactwith the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24, so thatoperation effects same as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.That is, the heat conduction efficiency between the bottom surface ofthe wafer W and the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24 can beimproved by reducing the contact heat resistance between the bottomsurface of the wafer W and the uppermost surfaces of the peltierelements 24. Further, the thermal response can also be enhanced due tothe absence of an additional member between the bottom surface of thewafer W and the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24.

Moreover, since the peripheral portion of the wafer W is presseddownwardly in this embodiment, the central portion of the wafer W may bedeformed to be curved as if it is slightly inflated upwardly in aprotruded shape. Consequently, contrary to the case shown in FIG. 6, theheights H3 of the peltier elements 24 are preferably set to be slightlylower in a peripheral portion of the supporting table 16 than in acentral portion thereof. In other words, the heights H3 of the peltierelements 24 are preferably set to be higher in the central portion sideof the wafer and gradually lower toward a peripheral portion thereof ina curved shape. In this case, a further tighter contact between thebottom surface of the wafer W and the uppermost surfaces of the peltierelements 24 can be obtained and, thus, the heat conduction efficiencycan also be further improved.

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed.

In the first and the second embodiment, the bottom surface of the waferW is directly contacted with the uppermost surfaces of the peltierelements 24. Accordingly, the wafer W itself may be contaminated bymetal components forming the peltier elements 24, such as germanium,bismuth, tellurium, lead and the like.

The third embodiment of the present invention has a purpose ofpreventing a metal contamination of the wafer W. FIG. 8 depicts aschematic cross sectional view of a third embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 9 provides a plan view of a mounting plate in accordancewith the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 8 and 9,like parts as those of the first embodiment of FIG. 1 will be designatedby like reference characters, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the wafer W is directly supported by thesupporting part 20. However, in this embodiment, a circular plate shapedmounting plate 74 having a diameter approximately equal to that of thewafer W is supported by the supporting part 20 and, further, the wafer Wis mounted on the mounting plate 74, as shown in FIG. 8.

A thickness of the mounting plate 74 is about 0.1 to 5 mm. Therefore,the mounting plate 74 may be deformed by the pressure difference betweenthe processing space S and the element accommodating space S0. As forthe mounting plate 74, there can be used a material having a greatelectrical resistance and a small thermal resistance, such as SiC, SiN,AlN, sapphire or the like. Moreover, formed in the mounting plate 74 arepin holes 82 where the lift pins 40 pass through.

A height of the stepped portion of the supporting part 20 in thisembodiment is preferably set to be higher than that in the firstembodiment by a thickness of the mounting plate 74, to thereby prevent aseparation of the wafer W, such as a sideward sliding or the like.

Due to the insertion of the mounting plate 74, this embodiment has a lowheat efficiency and a low heat conduction efficiency between the bottomsurface of the wafer W and the uppermost surfaces of the peltierelements 24, compared with those of the first and the second embodiment.However, the heat efficiency and the heat conduction efficiency of thisembodiment may be considered high compared to those of the conventionalequipment.

Further, due to the presence of the mounting plate 74, even when themetal components or the like forming the peltier elements 24 arescattered upward, the corresponding metal components and the like aretrapped by the mounting plate 74 and, thus, a metal contamination of thewafer W can be prevented. Besides, due to the vacuum-chucking of themounting plate 74, the bottom surface of the mounting plate 74 can beclosely contacted to the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements 24.

Although the mounting plate 74 itself is thermally expandable andcontractible by the temperature increase and decrease of the wafer W,the mounting plate 74 is fixed by the vacuum chucking. That is, itsexpansion and contraction of a plane direction is not restricted.Therefore, it is possible to prevent a breakage or the like of themounting plate 74.

Although the upper wiring 28 (see FIG. 2A) of the peltier elements 24 inthe first and the second embodiment is bonded to upper electrodes of thepeltier elements 24 by a welding or the like, the upper wiring 28 inthis embodiment may be provided as a wiring pattern on the bottomsurface of the mounting plate 74. The wiring pattern may be formed of W(tungsten), TiN, MO, Ti or Ta that is endurable against a hightemperature. Further, such a wiring pattern may be formed on the bottomsurface of the mounting plate 74 by a plating, a thermal spraying, anion implanter, a CVD, a PVD or the like.

When the wiring pattern serving as the upper wiring 28, is formed on thebottom surface of the mounting plate 74 as described above, amisalignment of the mounting plate 74 should be prevented in order toavoid a misalignment between the corresponding wiring pattern and theupper electrodes of the peltier elements 24. However, the thermalexpansion and contraction of the mounting plate 74 should be allowed.

Therefore, a part of the peripheral portion of the mounting plate 74 isfixed by a pin 76 as shown in FIG. 9. Moreover, a portion positioned atan opposite side of the pin 76 in a diametric direction of the mountingplate 74 is fixed by a pin 80 via an elongated hole 78. A lengthdirection of the elongated hole 78 is directed toward the pin 76. Such aconfiguration prevents the misalignment of the mounting plate 74 whileallowing the horizontal thermal expansion and contraction of themounting plate 74. As a result, the wiring pattern (upper wiring) can beproperly contacted to the upper electrodes of the peltier elements 24electrically. Also, it is possible to avoid a deformation of the waferand/or the mounting plate due to a rapid temperature increase anddecrease, a jump-up of the wafer W due to the deformation, and the like.

The configuration having the pins 76 and 80 described in FIG. 9 may alsobe employed in the case where the wiring pattern is not provided on thebottom surface of the mounting plate 74. In this case, the jump-up ofthe wafer W and the like can also be effectively prevented.

Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. This embodiment has a configuration obtained by combining thesecond embodiment and the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross sectional view of a fourth embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 11 illustrates a plan view of a mountingplate of FIG. 10. In FIGS. 10 and 11, like parts as those of theembodiments of FIGS. 1,7 and 8 will be designated by like referencecharacters, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, this embodiment presses the peripheralportion of the wafer W by using the clamp mechanism 60 (see FIG. 7)without using the element accommodating space evacuating unit 32 of thefirst embodiment. Further, in this embodiment, the wafer W is mounted onthe top surface of the mounting plate 74 (see FIG. 8) used in the thirdembodiment.

Further, this embodiment has guide pins 86 horizontally provided fromsupport columns 84 raised on the peripheral portion of the supportingtable 16 toward a central portion of the mounting plate 74 (see FIG.11), to thereby position the wafer W and prevent the jump-up of thewafer. The guide pins 86 are provided at three places spaced apart fromeach other with substantially same intervals along a circumferentialdirection of the mounting plate 74. Leading end portions of the guidepins 86 are inserted, in a loosely fitted manner, into guide holes 88formed on a sidewall of the mounting plate 74. Accordingly, it ispossible to prevent the jump-up of the mounting plate 74 while allowingthe horizontal thermal expansion and contraction of the mounting plate74 itself. Moreover, the wiring pattern may be formed on the bottomsurface of the mounting plate 74 as in the third embodiment.

In accordance with this embodiment, it is possible to obtain theoperation effects same as those of the second and the third embodiment.

In the second and the fourth embodiment, the lift pins 40 and the clampmechanisms 60 are separately provided. However, there can be employed aconfiguration in which they are provided as a unit, as shown in FIG. 12.FIG. 12 describes an example of a clamp mechanism attached with liftpins. In this case, the lift pins 40 and the clamp mechanism 60 can movevertically as a unit.

Hereinafter, a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention willbe described.

In the aforementioned first to the fourth embodiment, the conductivematerial (conductive metal) forming the upper and the lower wiring 28and 30 is exposed on surfaces of the upper and the lower wiring 28 and30 joining the P-type semiconductors and the N-type semiconductorsforming the peltier elements 24. Further, the bottom surface (backsurface) of the wafer W should be constantly insulated from the need toprevent the peltier elements 24 from being short-circuited.

However, a state of the wafer bottom surface may vary in the actualprocessing equipment. For example, a bare wafer originally has aconductive bottom surface. Further, even if an insulating oxide film isformed on the bottom surface of the wafer, a conductive portion maybecome exposed when the corresponding oxide film is partially peeledoff; or, the oxide film itself may be insufficient and have certainconductivity. In case of a wafer processed for a regular or irregularquality management, a back surface thereof may be abraded to expose aconductive material thereat. Therefore, when such wafers are used, aspecific insulating process is required to prevent the peltier elements24 from being short-circuited.

In this case, it may be considered to provide an additional insulatingplate such as a thin plate shaped ceramic plate or the like, asdescribed above. However, such an additional insulating plate needs tohave a certain plate thickness for durability. Accordingly, the thermalresistance increases, and the thermal response deteriorates.

In this embodiment, therefore, the occurrence of the short-circuit isprevented by forming thin insulating films on the surfaces of the upperand the lower wiring 28 and 30, the insulating films being made of acompound of the material forming the corresponding wirings.

FIG. 13 offers a schematic cross sectional view of a fifth embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 14 sets forth a fragmentary enlarged crosssectional view depicting parts of the peltier elements of FIG. 13. InFIGS. 13 and 14, like parts as those of the aforementioned embodimentswill be designated by like reference characters, and descriptionsthereof will be omitted.

Though the wiring structure of this embodiment may be applied to any oneof the first to the fourth embodiment, it is applied to the secondembodiment of FIG. 7 in this embodiment.

In this embodiment, one or both of the upper wiring 28 for joininguppermost portions of the peltier elements 24 and the lower wiring 30for joining lowermost portions of the peltier elements 24 are covered byinsulating films having an insulation property, i.e., a compound of theconductive material forming the corresponding wirings.

Such insulating films are not limited to the compound of the conductivematerial forming the wirings but may be other insulating films.

Herein, insulating films 28A and 30A are respectively formed on surfacesof the upper and the lower wiring 28 and 30, as shown in FIG. 14. Inthis case, each of the insulating films 28A and 30A is formed on asurface at least in contact with another member. To be specific, theupper wiring 28 has the insulating film only on its top surfacescontacted with bottom surface of the wafer W, and the lower wiring 30has the insulating film only on its bottom surfaces contacted with thesupporting table (bottom portion) 16.

Since the insulating film 30A is formed on the bottom surface of thelower wiring 30 as described above, the lower wiring 30 can be directlycontacted with the supporting table 16, without interposing therebetweenthe insulating plate 26 formed in a thin board shape as shown in FIG. 7.Accordingly, the thermal resistance in the contact point can be reduced.Although a thickness of the insulating films 28A and 30A variesdepending on materials, it is about 10 to 1000 μm, for example.

As for a compound of the conductive material, a carbide, a fluoride, asilicide, an oxide, a nitride or the like is selectively used dependingon the corresponding conductive material. Specifically, the conductivematerial forming the upper and the lower wiring 28 and 30 may beproperly selected from carbon, aluminum, tantalum, tungsten, Ni—Ti alloy(superelastic alloy), Fe—Cr—Ni—Mo dual phase stainless steel(superplastic material), silicon and the like. As for an example ofcarbon, there may be suggested carbon fiber plate or the like.

When carbon is used as a conductive material, SiC (silicon carbide) as asilicide may be used as an insulating film. Further, when aluminum isused as the conductive material, Al₂O₃ (alumina) as an oxide or AlN(aluminum nitride) as a nitride may be used as the insulating film. Whentantalum is used as the conductive material, TaO₃ (tantalum oxide film)as an oxide may be used as the insulating film. Moreover, when tungstenis used as the conductive material, WC (tungsten carbide) as a carbideor WO₂ (tungsten oxide) as an oxide may be used as the insulating film.When silicon is used as the conductive material, SiF (silicon fluoride)as a fluoride may be used as the insulating film.

The insulating films 28A and 30A may be formed by ion sputtering orvapor deposition. Also, they may be formed by coating a sol-gel typematerial and then drying or baking the coated material. In addition, itis possible to form the insulating film on a surface of a plate-shapedwiring material and then join the corresponding wiring material betweenthe peltier elements, the insulating film being formed by performing inadvance a carbonization process, a fluoridation process, asilicification process, an oxidation process, a nitrification process orthe like. By using the compound of the conductive material forming thewirings as the insulating films, the close contact is high and theseparation hardly occurs.

By forming the insulating film 28A made of a compound of thecorresponding material on the surfaces of the upper wiring 28, the waferW can be mounted on the upper wiring 28 while maintaining a directcontact therewith regardless of a state of the bottom surface of thewafer W. Hence, the thermal resistance in the corresponding contactportion is reduced, and the thermal response can be improved.

Similarly, by forming the insulating film 30A made of a compound of thecorresponding material on the surfaces of the lower wiring 30, thepeltier elements 24 can be directly contacted on the supporting table 16without interposing a thin plate shaped insulating material 26therebetween. Accordingly, the thermal resistance in the contact portionis reduced and, thus, the thermal response can be improved.

Although the insulating films 28A and 30A are formed on both surfaces ofthe upper and the lower wiring 28 and 30 in this embodiment, theinsulating films may be formed only on either the upper wiring 28 or thelower wiring 30 without being limited the above-described example.

A semiconductor wafer was used as an example of an object to beprocessed in the present invention. However, it is not limited theretoand can be applied to an LCD substrate, a glass substrate and the like.

1. A processing equipment for an object to be processed, comprising: aprocess container having an evacuable inner space; a gas introducingunit for introducing a gas into the process container; a supportingtable provided at the process container; a ring-shaped supporting part,provided on the supporting table, for supporting the object to beprocessed; a plurality of peltier elements provided on a top surface ofthe supporting table at an inner side of the supporting part, thepeltier elements being disposed at regular intervals; and an elementaccommodating space evacuating unit for evacuating an inside of anelement accommodating space formed between a bottom surface of theobject to be processed, which is supported by the supporting part, thetop surface of the supporting table, and the supporting part, wherein amounting surface of the supporting part has a height slightly higherthan a height of uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements to form agap between the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements and thebottom surface of the object to be processed, and wherein the gap isreduced by the element accommodating space evacuating unit so that thepeltier elements are directly contacted with the object to be processedduring a processing.
 2. The processing equipment of claim 1, wherein theuppermost surfaces of the peltier elements have a uniform height.
 3. Theprocessing equipment of claim 1, wherein the uppermost surfaces of thepeltier elements are slightly higher in a peripheral portion of thesupporting table than in a central portion thereof.
 4. The processingequipment of claim 1, wherein the peltier elements are provided byarranging plural element modules in a prescribed arrangement state, eachelement module being formed of one or more prescribed number of thepeltier elements.
 5. The processing equipment of claim 1, wherein acoolant passageway where a cooling medium is made to flow is formed inthe supporting table.
 6. The processing equipment of claim 1, furthercomprising a heating unit for heating the object to be processed.
 7. Theprocessing equipment of claim 1, wherein the uppermost surfaces of thepeltier elements are selectively connected with each other by an upperwiring, lowermost surfaces of the peltier elements are selectivelyconnected with each other by a lower wiring, and a conductive materialforming the upper and/or lower wiring is exposed at least either topsurfaces of the upper wiring or bottom surfaces of the lower wiring. 8.The processing equipment of claim 7, wherein the top surfaces of theupper wiring are configured to be directly contacted with a bottomsurface of the object to be processed.
 9. The processing equipment ofclaim 7, wherein the conductive material is one of carbon, aluminum,tantalum, tungsten, Ni—Ti alloy (superelastic alloy), Fe—Cr—Ni—Mo dualphase stainless steel (superplastic material), and silicon.
 10. Theprocessing equipment of claim 7, wherein the upper wiring and the lowerwiring are formed in a plate shape.
 11. The processing equipment ofclaim 1, wherein the uppermost surfaces of the peltier elements areselectively connected with each other by an upper wiring, bottomsurfaces of the peltier elements are selectively connected with eachother by a lower wiring, and at least either top surfaces of the upperwiring or bottom surfaces of the lower wiring are covered by aninsulating film.
 12. The processing equipment of claim 11, wherein theinsulating film is made of a compound of a conductive material formingthe upper wiring and/or the lower wiring.
 13. The processing equipmentof claim 11, wherein the bottom surfaces of the lower wiring are coveredby the insulating film and are directly contacted with a surface of thesupporting table.
 14. The processing equipment of claim 11, wherein theinsulating film is made of one of a carbide, a fluoride, a silicide, anoxide, and a nitride of the conductive material.